Search Results (15)

Background: Sustainability is a critical concern in transportation, notably in light of governmental initiatives such as cap-and-trade systems and eco-label regulations aimed at reducing emissions. In this context, collaborative approaches among carriers, which involve the exchange of shipment requests, are increasingly recognized as effective strategies to enhance efficiency and reduce environmental impact. Methods: This research proposes a novel collaborative planning model for multimodal transport designed to minimize the total costs associated with freight movements, including both transportation and $C{O}_2$ emissions costs. Transshipments of freight between vehicles are modeled in the proposed formulation, promoting carrier coalitions. This study incorporated eco-labels, representing different emission ranges, to capture shipper sustainability preferences and integrated authority-imposed low-emission zones as constraints. A bi-objective approach was adopted, combining transportation and emission costs through a weighted sum method. Results: A case study on the Naples Bypass network (Italy) is presented, highlighting the model’s applicability in a real-world setting and demonstrating the effectiveness of collaborative transport planning. In addition, the model quantified the benefits of collaboration under low-emission zone (LEZ) constraints, showing notable reductions in both total costs and emissions. Conclusions: Overall, the proposed approach offers a valuable decision support tool for both carriers and policymakers, enabling sustainable freight transportation planning. Full article

Sustainable food consumption is crucial for mitigating environmental degradation and promoting social and economic well-being. Despite growing interest in sustainability, significant challenges persist in consumer adoption and market integration. This study conducted a systematic literature review (SLR) to explore the key drivers, obstacles, technological innovations, and corporate strategies shaping sustainable food consumption. The review synthesizes findings from peer-reviewed research published between 2015 and 2024, analyzing patterns across economic, geographic, and sociobehavioral contexts. Health concerns and environmental awareness are primary drivers, complemented by ethical values, taste perception, and social norms. However, economic constraints, limited product availability, lack of awareness, and behavioral inertia hinder its widespread adoption. Technological advancements, including digital platforms, AI-driven food safety solutions, blockchain for traceability, and alternative proteins, present opportunities to address these challenges. Corporate initiatives such as corporate social responsibility (CSR), fair-trade programs, and eco-labeling enhance consumer trust and accessibility. This study highlights key research gaps, particularly regarding cross-cultural variations in sustainable consumption patterns, long-term behavioral shifts, and the role of digital interventions in influencing consumer decision-making. A multi-stakeholder approach involving academia, businesses, and policymakers is crucial for developing strategies to facilitate the transition toward a sustainable and resilient food system. Full article

The EU Ecolabel, established in 1992, aims to promote sustainable consumption, yet a significant gap persists between consumers’ positive environmental attitudes and their actual purchasing behavior of ecolabeled products. This study examines the attitude–behavior gap in EU Ecolabel adoption across Europe, leveraging data from the 2023 Eurobarometer survey with 26,630 valid responses from all EU member states. Using mediation path analysis, the research investigates the factors mediating the relationship between environmental knowledge and purchasing behavior, including environmental attitude, ecolabel trust, and environmental concern. The study applies an integrated theoretical framework combining the Knowledge–Attitude–Behavior model and Attitude–Behavior–Context theory to explain the complexities of consumer behavior towards ecolabeled products. The findings reveal the interplay of direct and indirect effects among ecolabel knowledge, trust, environmental concern, attitude, and buying behavior, while also considering demographic factors’ influence such as age, gender, education level, and residential setting. The research provides a comprehensive cross-country analysis within the EU, offering insights into bridging the attitude–behavior gap and enhancing the adoption of eco-friendly products. The results have significant implications for policymakers, marketers, and researchers in promoting sustainable consumer behavior, improving environmental label effectiveness, and developing targeted interventions to increase ecolabel adoption rates. Full article

A gap exists between consumer adoption of sustainable purchasing habits and the behavioural changes required to significantly decrease planetary environmental impact. Current ecolabels do not enable purchasing based on environmental impact, and an effective labelling scheme is required to change purchasing priorities. Using focus groups, ecolabels with components varying in the depth of environmental information conveyed, visual features employed, as well as product comparability and scalability of design, were evaluated by consumers with differing levels of environmental awareness. Independent, credible information accessible to consumers of varying environmental awareness was a participant priority. In-depth data communicated through a bar or pie chart with an interpretable holistic message across all environmental factors was preferred. Colour-coded components offering product comparisons and scalable to the size of the packaging, product value, and lifetime were most likely to empower environmentally motivated purchasing. Insights can inform the development of an effective ecolabelling scheme that equips consumers to adopt more sustainable purchasing habits. Full article

SDGs are playing an increasing role in defining sustainability paths for energy-intensive sectors. In particular, the steel sector is promoting several parallel initiatives as a key player sector in the European process industry. This work describes the major focal trends related to the sustainability of steel and presents the principal EU approaches and initiatives linked with the ESTEP action area. The core sustainability issues related to SDGs in the EU steel sector are presented with a particular focus on the quantification approaches. Then, the paper presents different areas for SDG implementation by single organizations in the EU context. Such areas provide an operational path for managing and implementing SDGs. In particular, the key areas include: (1) roadmapping initiatives with a focus on specific sustainability targets; (2) eco-labelling trends with reference to usage per label typology; (3) reporting initiatives by single organizations with a focus on specific SDGs; and (4) representative EU steel R&D projects related to selected sustainability targets. The discussion part focuses on a critical review of all presented areas to summarise the main paths in adopting SDGs targeted at the EU steel sector level. As the final outcome, prime emerging barriers are suggested as well as critical issues in implementing SDG-based sustainability targets. Full article

Sustainable consumption and production (SCP) is largely influenced by dynamics in the market system. Hence, this study adopts the systems thinking approach as a tool to understand the non-linearity and complexity of sustainable practices. The food delivery business has accelerated the plastic waste problem, especially during COVID-19 where restaurant dine-in was limited. This study aims to identify high leverage points, which contribute to system intervention strategies to improve Thailand’s single-use plastics (SUP) waste situation caused by the food delivery sector. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with relevant stakeholders (n = 14). A qualitative system dynamics model analysis and thematic analysis suggest that the key leverage points include (1) benefit alignment among all stakeholders, (2) cost minimization and profit maximization, (3) laws and regulations, (4) postconsumption waste management systems, and (5) research and development. In addition, to stimulate policy initiatives, this study suggests that system intervention strategies should include behavioral instruments (setting default and eco-labelling), market-based instruments (green-packaging procurement and subsidies), and system and infrastructure provision (waste management systems and deposit return models). Partnerships, research and development, and laws and regulations are proposed as supporting measures. Full article

Consumers and professionals realize the importance of adopting social and environmental responsibility, but it is not easy for companies to implement transparent sustainability strategies that consumers can trust. Thus, it is often hard for consumers to compare brands to make conscious sustainability decisions. Blockchain technology is proposed as a bridge between ecolabels and industry initiatives as this technology provides the transparency of sustainable business practices. The objective of this study is to examine the effects of effectiveness, knowledge of the sustainability initiative, and trust in claims made by a company in ecolabels (i.e., traditional and blockchain ecolabels) on intention to buy products by comparing Generations X and Y. A total of 200 participants completed the survey. The results indicated that both the trust and knowledge measures were higher for the blockchain label than for the traditional ecolabel for Generation Y. Thus, the companies should determine how to effectively integrate this technology to the mutual benefit of the retailer and consumer by different generations. Full article

Marketing literature emphasizes the importance of green product adoption for environmental sustainability. However, consumers’ evaluations of the key factors (for adopting green products) differ in critical ways. Drawing on a consumer–marketing interface, this study uses a binary logit model to investigate how consumers adopt two different types of products (e.g., glass and electronic). The results show that the impacts of the twelve factors behind consumer adoption of green products vary widely between glass and electronic products. Specifically, the analysis identifies four factors (eco-labeling, peer groups, cultural values, and environmental awareness) that have no influence on consumer adoption intentions. It also shows that males are more likely to have positive adoption intentions than females for both glass and electronic products. The authors conclude this paper by discussing the implications of these important findings for research and practice. Full article

Consumers are paying close attention to green products to reduce the environmental impact on health issues. As the scope of this research, this current study focuses on determining consumers’ purchase decisions regarding green products using a survey conducted in a fast-growing developing country. This research was descriptive and considered a conceptual framework for extending the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), which was selected as the primary theoretical model. The significant contributions and main objectives of this study are as follows—to explore the present scenario of green marketing in Bangladesh with previous studies, and to fill a research gap regarding green purchase decisions by applying the TPB model with adding additional constructs, such as environmental concerns, green perceived quality, and future green estimates. A range of qualitative and quantitative techniques were adopted to collect data from the target groups, where a sample of young educated Bangladeshi consumers (n = 638) was used to consider the measurement and structural models by applying a partial least squares-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) method. The empirical findings show that consumers’ environmental concern (EC), green perceived benefits (GPB), green awareness of price (GAP), green willingness to purchase (GWP), and future estimation of green marketing (GFE) have a strong positive influence on consumer’ green purchase decision (GPD). Still, the green perceived quality (GPQ) has a negative influence on green purchase decisions (GPD). To inform consumers about green or eco-friendly products, this study provides valuable suggestions to companies, marketers, and policymakers for designing green marketing tools such as green advertising, green branding, and eco-labels. Based on these findings, it gives some managerial insights for the promotion of green products and green marketing. Full article

Due to global interest in the improvement of national income and quality of life, eco-labeled food (ELF) for sustainable consumption and personal healthcare has been increasing. This study aims to contribute to two research streams by examining the quality of ELF in forests (ELFF). First, this study intends to estimate the willingness to pay (WTP) of ELFF producers for the certification verified by the government-supported institution and investigate the difference in certification costs between the actual certificating authority and ELFF producers. Second, this study aims to figure out the perception mechanism of how consumers who would like to purchase ELFFs recognize the effect of enhanced certification. These efforts may contribute to the research on how to raise interest in the production of ELF-related products and sustainable consumption. To achieve the purpose of this study, we adopted contingent valuation methods (CVM) to measure WTPs using interview-based surveys with 40 ELF producers and ordinary least squares (OLS) regression to examine the effect of certification with 112 consumers who experienced ELF consumption. Results of this study provide theoretical and practical implications by looking at the relationship between ELF certification and sustainable consumption from a stakeholder’s perspective. This study intends to expand the research field of ELF from agriculture to forestry products. It provides a basis for providing practical implications for policymakers who propose sustainable consumption. Full article

Accommodation providers such as hotels, campsites, and holiday villages can use ecolabels to show their green credentials to potential customers. Whereas there is extensive literature on ecolabel adoption in the Hotel and Bed and Breakfast (B & B) sector, no such research exists for other accommodation sectors. In this paper, we present the results of statistical analyses of survey data from firms in the Dutch accommodation sector (including hotels, campsites, and group accommodations) with and without the Green Key ecolabel, which is a third-party certified international label for the tourist and leisure sector. We obtain insights into the motivations for adopting (or not), analyze the characteristics of firms with and without the label, and get an indication of the perceived impact of ecolabel adoption on costs and profits. We find that previously found results for hotels and B & Bs do not always apply to other subsectors of the accommodation sector. We also find that obtaining the label required a limited investment for almost half of the sample, and resulted in cost reductions for more than half of the responding firms. Full article

The tendency to implement diverse environmental tools and promote the adoption of environmentally friendly practices in tourism activities is relatively new. One such tool is the EU Ecolabel used in the hotel industry as a voluntary European initiative meant to attest to the responsible attitude towards the environment. Since holding the ecolabel by the Romanian accommodation units is rather an exception, our aim was to investigate the views of industry managers on environmental issues, focusing on the EU Ecolabel, and get a glimpse of the challenges and prospects of ecolabelling within the seaside hotel industry. To this end, the study was designed and conducted on 60 hotel managers. The research results gave evidence to the measures already implemented, those pending implementation, reasons for not applying for the EU Ecolabel, and the most challenging criteria. The potential impact of the EU Ecolabel on the economic activity efficiency, and its role in customer decision processes and in marketing communication, was highlighted. Subsequently, a mathematical model was proposed, revealing that the intention to meet the criteria and obtain the EU Ecolabel depends on the managers’ level of knowledge of the EU Ecolabel, their opinion on whether holding the EU Ecolabel represents a competitive advantage, and the current efficiency level of the hotels’ economic activity. Considering the research findings, it is obvious that the industry would benefit from ampler and more sustained information campaigns on the EU Ecolabel. Full article

There are significant economic, environmental, social, and marketing issues that exist from the supply-side perspective in response to sustainability. This study examines New Zealand winegrowers in terms of their attitudes and behaviours towards wine tourism and sustainable wine production. A national survey was conducted at the end of 2015, which was the fourth such survey to be undertaken as part of a longitudinal study of wine tourism in New Zealand. This survey drew on issues of wine and biosecurity, climate change, and eco-labelling, as well as wine tourism. These issues were examined within the context of three key drivers of sustainability: the physical aspects of sustainable wine production, the internal drivers within wine businesses for the adoption of sustainable practices, and the external regulatory aspects that govern the adoption of sustainable wine production practices. The findings indicate that there were substantial concerns with the perceived value provided by both wine tourism and sustainable winegrowing practices. These concerns exist at both the firm level and with the governing bodies that are responsible for implementing sustainable winegrowing initiatives. Unless this perception of the value of sustainability within the New Zealand wine industry is altered in the future, it appears that there will continue to be an ongoing issue as to how sustainable winegrowing initiatives are implemented. Full article

The entrepreneurial resilience of eco-label product retailers emphasises their adaptive capability for renewal after the economic crisis. This paper explores the resilience of the market intelligence techniques adopted by the eco-label product retailers in order to contribute to sustainable development of this market in Romania. The research, conducted on a sample of Romanian retailers of eco-label products, analyses the main sources for gathering data about their competitors, the reasons for monitoring the strategic options of their competitors and the specific market intelligence techniques employed within the entrepreneurial resilience approach, aiming to overcome the negative crisis effects. The research outlines, from an entrepreneurial resilience perspective, several positioning opportunities of the eco-label product retailers after the crisis, which have affected the Romanian economy in the period 2008–2009 and have implicitly affected the eco-label market. Full article

Intense fishing pressure has been depleting marine resources worldwide. At a time when almost a third of world stocks are overexploited, the demand for fish and seafood is growing both due to the increasing world population and to rising per capita consumption. Over the past few decades, the demand for fish products has in turn grown considerably in Italy, although concern about sustainable fisheries here is not perceived as keenly as in Northern European countries, where certified fish and seafood products coming from sustainable fisheries are widely available. In this study, 248 fish and seafood products sold by a major Italian retailer were evaluated in terms of geographic origin, gear used, species conservation status, and stock status to gain information in view of the introduction of sustainable fishery products in Italy’s outlets. A literature review illustrated that most species came from some of the most intensely exploited fishing grounds in the world, where they are usually caught by trawls. The results highlighted the importance of supplying seafood products coming from sustainable sources and fisheries through the adoption of eco-labels and certification schemes. Finally, the present study stresses the urgency to promote more responsible fish and seafood consumption in Italy. Full article